www.turiscalabria.it

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Scilla

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Calabria, Magna Graecia cot, offers a wide

range of natural, adventure, artistic, popu-

lar, food and wine attractions together with

its rich historical, cultural and ethnical heritage

all mixing with its well-known sense of hospitali-

ty: different facets of an all-to-discover world in a

region only.

Calabria wants to create the right conditions to gua-

rantee an unforgettable experience to its visitors so

to involve all their five senses in order to leave them

a wonderful remembering .

It is well known for its coasts even if in the last ye-

ars it has also developed the internal and mountain

areas from a touristic point of view for its many old

towns full of history and natural parks. In Calabria

the general increase in the demand of a green and

cultural tourism has also produced an improvement

of services and accommodation facilities so to gua-

rantee the quality of the touristic offer as well.

This guide wants to summarize what Calabria is

able to offer tourists in a way which mix the ex-

perience of visiting and the emotion it gives them.

But more than a portfolio of its beauties, this guide

aims at giving the tour operators the possibility to

see, to plan and to realize the ‘product Calabria’ ba-

sing on the principles of a sustainable tourism.

A business guide

CULTURE Archeology

Ethnic minoritiesMuseums and art cities

Food and wineCrafts

Location

Calabria and its welcome tradition

Five provinces

5 reasons to choose calabria

COASTSAND BEACHESTHE IONIC COASTThe Achaeans CoastThe Saracens CoastThe Oranges Coast The Jasmines Coast

TYRRHENIAN SEAThe Purple CoastThe Gods CoastThe Cedars Coast

NATUREThe PollinoThe SilaThe AspromonteThe Serre Regional Natural ParkProtected Marine Area “Capo Rizzuto”Mediterranean Biodiversity ParkNature ReservesRegional Marine Parks

EVENTSTheatreJazzEthnic musicFolkloreArtsFestivals WELLNESS

SPORT AND ADVENTURESAirWater Hearth

Infrastructure

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LOCATION

Calabria, toe of the Italy’s boot, is wet by the

Tyrrhenian sea, western side, by the Ionic

sea, eastern side, by the Taranto gulf sea,

north-eastern side, and it is separated by

the Stretto of Messina south-western side.

Its surface is mainly hilly and this repre-

sents the 49,2 % of its land. It also has wide

mountain areas covering the 41,8 % of its

land.

Calabria coasts are 10 % of the all-Italian

shores (715,7 km2) and it has the greatest

and exclusive variety of beaches created by

particular rocks such as the granite ones

in the Reggio Calabria province, in the

Vibo Valentia Tyrrhenian area and in the

Catanzaro Ionic zone. The Calabria clima-

te is Mediterranean. In the Ionic coast it is

drier than in the milder Tyrrhenian sea zo-

nes. Temperatures never go down the 10° C

or over 40°C, only in summer season they

reach 42 -44°C. In the Apennine areas and

the internal zones from Pollino to Sila and

Aspromonte the climate is mountain-like

continental cold with hard snowy winters

and pretty hot summers.

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LA CALABRIAA WELCOME TRADITION

The first landscape you see reaching Ca-

labria is the massive Pollino Mountain

at the border between Calabria and Ba-

silicata, then the intense green color of its

woods and its highlands, sweetly sloping

down towards the sea.

Small villages on woody mountains, tor-

rent-like rivers and wild gorges invite us

to discover an always new and different

land sometimes mysterious, sometimes

fascinating. The contact with people from

Calabria will change this journey into po-

etic and familiar thus giving originality to

it. Calabria has many different landscapes

since the sea is so close to the mountains.

Even in the very inside of this land it is

possible to see an easily reachable strip of

sea. You can go from 300 to 1000 m high

and from a coast to another in an hour.

These characteristics give a holiday in

Calabria various qualities according to

the different tastes and requests: dynami-

sm, varied touristic offerings but also re-

lax and rest. Holidays on demand for tho-

se who rely on the professionality of the

many touristic resorts all along the 800

km coast or for those who prefer family

farms and bed &breakfast to live cultu-

re, perfumes, food and wine of Calabria’s

everyday life.

The beauties of this land are well distri-

buted in the five provinces of this region.

Wherever you go, you will be attracted by

the 5 product families: coasts and bea-

ches, culture, nature, sport and adventu-

res and events.

In this guide there is the best you can see,

taste, visit, know in Calabria.

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FIVE PROVINCES

The province of CosenzaCosenza is the eighth Italian province per

extension, characterized by a population

density of almost 110 inhabitants per squa-

re km. The land of the province of Cosenza

occupies almost all the North central part

of Calabria, from the Ionic coast, eastern

side, to the Tyrrhenian one, western side,

from the Pollino Mountain in the North to

the highland of Sila Grande in the South.

There you will also find plains such as

the Sybaris one, wide valleys such as the

Crati ‘s, hilly zones such the ones in the

northern and eastern part of Sila Greca.

The great variety of landscapes of Pollino

and Sila is opposed to the wideness of this

land, neither for the two (Ionic and Tyrrhe-

nian) seas, nor for the mountains. In fact

in the same shore there is a great variety

of coast’ segments, so as every mountain is

completely different from the other.

The province of Cosenza has a particular

ethno-cultural geographic structure, cha-

racterized by a high number of ethno-hi-

storical communities belonging to the year

1400, the Albanians (in 27 italo -Albanian

origin towns) and the Occitans (in Guar-

dia Piemontese). Both maintain their eth-

nic and cultural values in still speaking

their original languages, in their liturgical

activities, in their food tradition.

Cosenza is known as the ‘Città dei Bruzi’

and it is one of the oldest towns in this re-

gion with its 269.000 inhabitants. It was

built by Bruzi but historical signs witness

the strong influence the Magna Graecia

had on it too.

This town is also known as Athens of Ca-

labria for its cultural past. For example the

Accademia Cosentina is the second in the

Naples Reign and one of the first founded

in Europe. In October 2008 it was recogni-

zed like Art Town of Calabria Region to

enlight the historical, artistic and touristic

heritage of the land.

Cosenza

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The province of CrotoneThe province of Crotone has an ancient

Magna-Graecia tradition. In fact land fu-

sion is the same since the Greek period,

from the constitution of the Marquisate

in1390, which keeps the name still today.

The arid summer climate and the paucity

of trees give this land a sub-tropical aspect

which over 900 m changes into a huge na-

tural mountainous Sila landscape covered

with snow for some months during the

year and rich in waters, woods and wide

clearings.

The land in the province of Crotone exten-

ds itself between the Ionio Sea and the Sila

mountains.

Among its famous touristic seaside resorts

there are Le Castella (in the town of Capo

Rizzuto), where a big Aragonese castle in

sea waters is and Alice toe (in the town

of Ciro Marina) which every year pun-

ctually receives the Blue Flag for its clear

sea. The site of Trepidò is the most visited

mountainous area (in the town of Cotro-

nei), where the famous Palumbo village is.

In this land a very small Albanian com-

munity, mainly in the areas of Pallagorio,

San Nicola dell’Alto, Carfizzi, where the

inhabitants fluently speak the historical

Albanian-origin arbereshe language, also

live, and they have the possibility of spea-

king both Italian and Albanian languages.

As for wine and food in Cirò they pro-

duce the famous and delicious Cirò wine

with excellence designation of origin and

it represents the Ciro economical highest

source.

Furthermore Cutro bakers produce a spe-

cial kind of bread, locally made with who-

le -wheat flavor also exported to northern

Italy. For this reason Cutro was called ‘the

Calabria barn’. Delicious is also the Pe-

corino cheese made in Crotone from local

sheep milk.

Crotone

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The province of CatanzaroIt counts 368.318 inhabitants. Catanzaro,

capital city of this region, ‘ between two

seas’, eastern side on Ionian sea and western

side on Tyrrhenian sea, borders by the pro-

vince of Cosenza to the North, the province

of Crotone to the north-east, the province of

Reggio Calabria to the South, the province

of Vibo Valentia to the South-West. It has a

very particular geographical position since

it is located in the Catanzaro isthmus, the

closest Italian area allowing in some parti-

cular clear days of the year to see contem-

porarily the Tyrrhenian sea, the Ionian sea,

the Aeolian islands and sometimes also the

Vesuvius.

It occupies a surface of 2391 square km, it

counts 80 municipalities and 358.122 inha-

bitants (18,4% of the population in Calabria)

that is the 15,9% of the regional area. For its

central position and for its middle way to the

two coasts it has become a very important

railway, highway and airport infrastructure

hub. The A3 highway along the Tyrrhenian

coast passes through the province of Catan-

zaro as well as the SS106 (Ionian state road)

along the Ionian coast from Taranto to Reggio

Calabria. The opposite coasts are connected

by the Two Seas state road 280, cutting the

province horizontally throughout the whole

Catanzaro isthmus linking to SS106, close

to Catanzaro town. The most important rail-

way stations are those of Lametia Terme for

the Tyrrhenian coast, Catanzaro Lido for the

Ionian coast.

In Lametia Terme, 20 km far from Catanza-

ro, there is the most important airport of the

region. The province of Catanzaro relies on

the maritime tourism very much, mainly in

the Squillace gulf between Catanzaro Lido

and Soverato, fully living the summer period.

During the day you can enjoy the rare beauty

of the Squillace Gulf coast where wonderful

cliffs give place to white sandy beaches. Du-

ring the night many discos and pubs in Ca-

tanzaro Lido and mainly in Soverato enter-

tain people’s nightlife.

Its land also comprehends the Sila highland

that with its touristic structures and ski re-

sorts helps the development of a dynamic

kind of tourism in all periods of the year. Of

great importance is the Scolacium archeolo-

gical excavations site, where the signs of a

pre-Roman site, Skylletion, still exist, which

was founded on Magna Graecia area, the to-

Roccelletta

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day Squillace, a very ancient village giving

the name to the Gulf. In this zone there are a

Norman castle also known as ‘Dei Borgia’ ca-

stle and various monumental churches of dif-

ferent periods, all rich in history and culture.

The province of Vibo ValentiaIn the very southern heart of Calabria,

southern side to Cosenza and northern side

to Reggio, the province of Vibo Valentia is

between the Sant’Eufemia Gulf to the North

and the Gioia Tauro Gulf to the South. The

internal area is characterized by hills and

mountains and it has a very mild climate

giving this land an almost eight-months

long summer period.

Vibo Valentia registers 166.732 inhabi-

tants, its surface is 1139 square km wide

and has 50 municipalities. Its admini-

strative system was constituted in 1992

and for this it is a very young province.

Its land develops between the Tyrrhenian

coast and the Serre Apennine mountains

of Calabria including the wide agricultural

area of Poro. For this reason its provincial

orographic profile is pretty various. It has

sites of great natural beauty such as Capo

Vaticano and all the Gods coast, equipped

with many seaside resorts, accommodation

facilities, camping and touristic resorts. On

the contrary in the near inlands, we can

find olive cultivations, vineyards and ve-

getables plants extensions like for example

the famous Tropea onion.

The woody hills follow ending with the Ser-

re ridge, keeping unchanged the mountain

economic social aspect based on the exploi-

ting of an economic and touristic wood he-

ritage. This land also has a naturalistic oa-

sis formed by the Angitola lake, where it is

possible to see rare birds species and walk

on naturalistic routes. Of particular inte-

rest are also the routes in the Serre Park

among secular trees. We have evidence of

historical signs left by the Paleolithic, Ita-

lic, Magna-Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Nor-

man, Swabian, Anjou, Aragon settlements

during centuries.

You can find archeological witnesses of

them in the different sites and in the State

Archeological Museum of Vibo Valentia; in

the ruins of many villages (Rocca Angitola,

Castelmonardo, old Briatico, old Mileto, etc)

and in old towns (Francavilla Angitola, Fi-

ladelfia, Monterosso, Pizzo, Motta Filocastro

Tropea

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and Arena). History and culture can also be

found in the food and wine traditions sen-

ding us back to agriculture, sheep-farming

and fishing. Among the most famous pro-

ducts there are preserved food, tuna-fish,

olive oil, chestnuts, mushrooms, sweeties,

Poro pecorino cheese, Soriano biscuits, Spi-

linga ’nduja, fileja and Pizzo ice-cream.

The province of Reggio CalabriaIt registers 566.226 inhabitants and it is

the province of Calabria with the highest

population density. It faces at Tyrrhenian

sea to the West, Ionian sea to the South

and East, it borders by the province of Ca-

tanzaro to the North-East, the province of

Vibo Valentia to the North-West and it is

3,2 km far from Sicily to the South West.

It records 28% of Calabria population, it

counts 97 municipalities and it is 3183

square km wide occupying 21,1% of Ca-

labria territory. During ancient times the

province of Reggio Calabria was one of the

most flourishing centres of Magna Grae-

cia culture and power in fact important

polis like Rhegion, Locri Epizefiri, Kau-

lon Medma and Metauros were built on its

land. Furthermore the province of Reggio

is the native land of many famous men

such as the philosopher Tommaso Cam-

panella , the composer Francesco Cilea,

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the archimandrite of Costantinople Bar-

laam, Boccaccio’s and Petrarca’s teacher,

famous singers such as Mia Martini, Lo-

redana Bertè and Mino Reitano, the pain-

ter and sculptor Umberto Boccioni, leader

of the futuristic movement, the worldwide

famous fashion designer Gianni Versace,

great writers and journalists such as Cor-

rado Alvaro, Leonida Repaci and Saverio

Strati The proximity to the sea and to the

mountains determines in this area a great

variety of naturalistic frames. In this con-

text two predominating aspects come out:

the Aspromonte with its natural park and

the coast together with the Messina Stretto

which is the watershed and unifying node

of all the Calabria coast system. From a

naturalistic point of view the complex

fragmentation of this land goes together

with a wide range of rare ecosystems and

Mediterranean typical landscapes, such as

the Purple coast, the Jasmines coast and

the Stilaro valley. Other typical contexts

are the one in Locride with its strong rural

tradition, linked to conventional cultures,

the Gioia Tauro flat area, where the role

played by the port aims at logistic, produc-

tive and infrastructural targets towards

environmental protection and heritage

renewal of local sources. In the province

of Reggio Calabria the ‘Greek language

of Calabria’ is still spoken. Once this lan-

guage was spoken in all southern Calabria

and today it is still the language of certain

valley villages like Bova, Bova Marina,

Roghudi, Gallicianò. This province is the

monastic centre of the orthodox archdioce-

se of Italy with the Greek-orthodox mona-

stery in San Giovanni Theristis in Bivongi.

The crafts and food and wine productions

characterize the economy of this province.

Wide is the range of the typical produc-

tions in wine, olive oil sectors, in handma-

de pastry, in artistic ceramics, in wood

working, all so excellent so as to give an

added value to this land. In details, very

famous is the Bergamot’s cultivation, a ci-

trus only growing in the coast area betwe-

en Catona and Monasterace, with the re-

lative production of its PDO Bergamot

essential oil of Reggio Calabria.

Reggio Calabria

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5 REASONS TO CHOOSE CALABRIA

1 AUTHENTICITY

If you ask somebody who visited

Calabria what is the most intere-

sting aspect of this land, often the answer

is ‘people and places’. This answer makes

the difference and makes the holiday in

Calabria an unforgettable experience for

its authenticity.

Authenticity of people and places in Cala-

bria, which a still alive past is connected to

involves all the five senses.

To choose Calabria as holiday’s destina-

tion means to offer the right product to

those who want to live its thousands year

history and be fascinated from it; to those

who like to live in everyday life’s simplici-

ty, to live in a cultural context throughout

sites, food and wine , art, festivals, folklore

and contemporary events. To choose Cala-

bria as touristic destination means to do a

choice of value.

2 ALL-YEAR TOURISM

From coast to inlands, from winter

to summer season there is always a

good reason to choose Calabria. Festivals

and cultural events take place during all

the year. From Red Hot Pepper Festival

in the most characteristic old villages of

northern Calabria to the southern regions’

religious events like the ‘Vattienti’ event

recalling Christ’s passion with realism

and pathos. Each event offers a piece of

Calabria way of living and each site in Ca-

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labria offers different accommodation op-

portunities. In the last years beyond high

–quality hotels and resorts, many bed and

breakfast facilities have been created thus

giving the possibility to realize a complete

touristic product offering . A Calabria pro-

duct ,which mix the culture of hospitality

with food and wine tradition and the en-

tertainment of various events.

3 NATURAL AND CULTURAL

DIVERSITY

To visit Calabria means to discover

a cultural kaleidoscopic world. The popu-

lation of Calabria is the result of a mixtu-

re of different Mediterranean people, who

colonized Calabria for long and short pe-

riods, leaving indelible signs in religious,

food cooking, language and architectoni-

cal traditions. Even the physical features

of the people from Calabria change accor-

ding to the geographical areas, which they

live in, always in a tolerance and freedom

context. The different natural landscape

has a strong ecological value and for its

rich biodiversity a great part of its natural

environment is considered protected zone.

The creation of three parks and of many

natural bio-energetic reserves makes Ca-

labria a land of a great variety of ecosy-

stems. Beaches, canyons, mountains, flat

areas, highlands and richness of flora and

fauna help the growth of those activities

linked to naturalistic tourism and adven-

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ture such as diving, bird watching, sport

fishing, free flight, kite surf, sailing, horse

riding, rafting and other open door sport

activities.

4 FOOD AND WINE

Food and wine typical tradition of

Calabria – which varies according

to its ethnic-cultural diversity – is an ad-

ded value to the product choice and rea-

lization. Very good restaurants offer the

best in local food and wine without gi-

ving up to recreational cooking. Typical

inns and taverns present ancient popular

receipts in their dishes so to be conside-

red ‘archeological food’.

The ‘caviar’ of poor people is the food of

Calabria that more than other can sum-

marize the sense of a popular way of coo-

king in this land. It is produced with an-

chovy eggs preserved with oil in a very

red hot chili pepper sauce: this receipts

bring us to a poor cooking tradition made

of simple and genuine elements, of strong,

almost violent, tastes and perfumes.

Furthermore it introduces a new parti-

cular aspect of this way of food prepa-

ration that is food processing in order to

be stocked, as once people from Calabria

did, to fight the famine periods, that often

occurred. The cousine from Calabria is

very balanced: it is possible to have sheep

and pork meat dishes as well as vegeta-

bles (mainly eggplant) and fishes ones.

This region is also leader in the produc-

tion of red hot chili pepper in all southern

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Italy. It is called ‘pipivruscente’, pipariel-

lu or pipazzu and it gives every kind of

food a special taste without covering it.

We can find it even in certain kinds of

ice-cream.

Pasta is one of the main food in Cala-

bria, handmade together with goat and

pork meat whose preparation and coo-

king time has been inherited by Greeks.

Swordfish and cod dishes mainly in the

province of Reggio Calabria play a prin-

cipal role in the cousine and festivals of

this region.

5A WELCOME PEOPLE

People from Calabria are happy and

easygoing in partying, melancholic

and passionate in remembering. They have

always a history to tell and you can never

refuse an invitation from them to drink a

glass of good wine. Their happy way of li-

ving and good manners are reasons why

tourists like to come back to this land. From

North to South they are hospitable and they

always respect the ‘foreign’ visitor. This is for

the past history of this region when the popu-

lation had to welcome many people coming

from other Mediterranean countries and still

today they maintain their traditions, their

language, their religious habits.